Routine intraoperative Doppler sonography in the evaluation of complications after living-related donor liver transplantation

PURPOSE: To determine whether quantitative and qualitative analysis of intraoperative Doppler sonography data are predictive of vascular complications after living-related donor liver transplantation. METHODS: Intraoperative sonograms of 81 transplanted livers (right lobe in 61 patients, left lobe in 20 patients) were analyzed for the presence of blood flow, resistance index, systolic acceleration time (SAT), peak systolic velocity, and morphologic characteristics of spectral waveform of the hepatic artery. Peak velocity and spectral waveforms of portal and hepatic veins were also analyzed. Intraoperative sonography results were compared with information obtained with multidetector-row CT (MDCT) angiography or conventional angiography. The time interval between operation and angiography ranged from 1 to 23 days (mean, 8.5 days). RESULTS: Hepatic artery stenosis (HAS) was identified in 20 patients via MDCT angiography, conventional angiography, or both. The Doppler parameters found helpful for predicting HAS were tardus-parvus pattern and delayed SAT. The sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV) were 60.0%, 73.7%, and 84.9%, respectively, for tardus-parvus pattern and 40.0%, 83.6%, and 80.9%, respectively, for delayed SAT. Peak velocities of the portal and hepatic veins were not reliable indicators of vascular complication. Loss of triphasity of the hepatic vein had a 98.4% NPV for venous obstruction. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed SAT of the hepatic artery and loss of triphasity of the hepatic vein had a >80% for specificity for predicting vascular complications. Tardus-parvus pattern, delayed SAT of the hepatic artery, and loss of triphasity of the hepatic vein showed an acceptable NPV for identifying vascular complications.